Structural-element manufacture



Nov. 24, 1925- N. c. RENDLEMAN STRUCTURAL ELEMENT MANUFACTURE FiledMarch 8. 1922 Patented Nov. 24,1925,

NORMAN O. BENDLEMAN,

LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, TION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

STRUCTURAL-ELEMENT MANUFACTURE.

OF DORMONT, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO JONES AND OF PITTSBURGH,PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- Application filed-march 8, 1922. Serial No.542,054.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that NORMAN C. RENDLEMAN, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Dormont, in the county of Allegheny, State ofPennsylvania, has invented an Improvement in Structural-ElementManufacture, of whichthe following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on thedrawings representing like parts.

My invention aims to improve the manufacture of latticed structuralelements and to perfect the products, such as beams, columns, girders,roof and bridge trusses, and other load carrying members havinglatticed, trussed or open work webs between their marginal flanges.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein l. have shown one embodiment orractice of my invention for purposes of i1 ustration,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of apreferred form of expanding and straighteningmachine, showing one type of product in process of manufacture; v

Fig. 2 is a-longitudinal mid-section of the same on the line 2-2 in Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse section of the same on the line 3-3in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4--4 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the finished product.

In the particular embodiment of my invention selected for illustrationherein and shown in the drawings, referring particularly to Figs. 1 and2, the material to be- 0 erated on is a latticed I-beam consisting ofside flanges 11 connected by an open work web of zigzag or inclinedstrips or ties 12 joined to the flan es by bonds 13 and to each other bybon s ,14 on the mid-line of the beam. The material is advantageouslytaken direct from the flattening operation of the expanding machine inits partly cooled condition and finished while still warm.

The beam is fed by means of suitable rolls 15 over; and under a seriesofstaggered rolls wlnch may have slightly convex mlddle portions bearingupon t e web members to flex them alternately up and down. The bottomrolls 16 are all drlven at uniform speed -from the rolls 15 or othersource of power by suitable grearin 17'. The top rolls 18 are preferablyiven y frictional contact with the beam, by grooves and collars 19preferably on the bottom rolls. The successive rolls areeach which isguided between the rolls slightly wider than the preceding one togradually separate the flanges 11 and widen the beam as it passesthrough.

The rolls 16, 18, are adjustable longitudinally of the direction oftravel of the beam to space them at intervals corresponding to thedistances between the bonds 13, 14, and the gearing 17 may likewise beadjusted to suit the spacingof the rolls, so that different sectionalshapes of beams and various forms and sizes of lattice work may be madeby suitably shaping and adjusting the'rolls. The operation'is asfollows: Referring particularly to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the beam or otherelement is guided by its marginal flanges between the feeding rolls 15and over the bottom rolls 16,the grooves of which support the \fianges11 in a horizontal plane. The top rolls are adjusted in their housingsto bear down on and maintain the horizontal alinement of the flanges-11.The enlarged middle portions of the rolls cause the strips or ties 12and the successive bonds 14 to bend upand down alternately as the beampasses through, thereby pulling on them slightly to straighten out anyirregularities, twists, bends or buckles left by the earlier fabricatingoperations,

in the element is shown in full lines in its condition when the bonds 14are under the top the bonds 14 are over the bottom rolls. The slightincrease in the effective length of the members 12 is compensated for bythe slight increase in the distance between the flanges 11 caused by theadditional length of each successive roll, as shown in Fig. 1.

It is evident that the pulling operation may be continued to the pointof actually stretching the metal of the web members 12 if it is desiredto obtain a greater lateral ex ansion of the web? v y inventionobviously is not restricted to the particular embodiment and ra cticethereof herein illustrated and descrlbed.

Having disclosed one illustrative embodiment of my invention, what Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows: Y

1. In the manufacture of structural elerolls and in dot and dash lineswhen ments having continuous sides and angularly disposed Web membersconnecting the sides, means for maintaining said sides in alinement anddeflecting longitudinally separate portions of said web members out ofthe plane of alinement of said sides to pull them straight.

2. In the manufacture of structural elements having continuous sides andangularly disposed web members connecting the sides, means formaintaining said sides in diverging horizontal alinement and deflectinglongitudinally separated portions of said web membersout of the plane ofalinement of said sides to pull them straight, whereby the furtherseparation of said sides may be 3. The process of'manufacturing latticedstructural elements comprising side members and angularly disposed webmembers connected to said side members at regularly spaced intervalswhich includes successively gripping said' web members simul- 'nately toopposite sides from the plane of the web to straighten theirintervening'portions. 1 5. The process of manufacturing lat'ticcdstructural elements comprising side members and angularly disposed webmembers connected to said side members at regularly spaced intervalswhich includes successively gripping said web members simultaneously attheir points of connection and.

midway therebetween and deflecting them from the plane of the web tostraighten their intervening portions while gradually separatinsaid'side members.

6. In the manufacture of/latticed structural elements, straighteningmeans for the web members comprising top and bottom rolls in alternationat spaced intervals corresponding to the distance between the endsandcrossing points of the web members, said rolls being slightly convexto bend the middle points of the respectivetweb members out of linestraight, and means for guiding the side members past said rolls inslightly divergent paths to maintain said web members taut as they arestraightened.

7. In the manufacture of latticed structural elements, straighteningmeans for the web members comprising top and bottom rolls in alternationat spaced intervals corresponding to the distance between the ends andcrossing points of the web members, said rolls being slightly convex tobend the middle points of the respective web members out of line withtheir ends to pull them straight, and means to maintain said web memberstaut as they are straightened.

8. A finishing step in the manufacture of structural elements, havingside members and a connecting web comprising inclined crosswise memberswhich includes passing the element through a series of straighteningrolls operating in alternation upon opposite sides of the respective webmembers while guiding the side members in divergent pat s.

9. The process of finishing latticed structural elements havingcontinuous marginal flanges and slitted and expanded web membersintegral therewith by subjecting the expanded web members to successivebending alternately in opposite directions with respect to the marginswhile maintaining the latter in their spaced relation in the principalplane of the element for pulling said web members free fromirregularities.

10. The process of finishing latticed structural elements having slittedand expanded web members by subjecting the expanded web memberstosuccessive bending alternately in opposite directions with respect tothe principal plane of the element for pulling them free fromirregularities, and separating the side members to accommodate theincreased length of the web members.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to, this specification.

NORMAN C. RENDLEMAN.

with their ends to pull them

